Road officials propose countywide millage

Saturday

Aug 2, 2014 at 12:01 AM

Kortny Hahn

The Cheboygan County Road Commission is asking voters to support a millage proposal on the August 5 primary election ballot in an attempt to raise funds to repair roads in the county.The proposal would allow the county to levy up to one mill on taxpayers for four years, solely for the purpose of funding repairs and resurfacing of the roads within the county between 2014 and 2017.“We would appreciate a yes vote on our road millage,” said Road Commission Board Chair David Brandt. Brandt said there is not enough funding to repair and resurface the roads, which are a part of the county’s infrastructure. The current source of funding for the road commission has been from the federal and state gas taxes, which has not increased since 1997.Because newer cars are starting to use less fuel due to emissions regulations, the road commission is receiving less funding from these taxes while expenses are increasing.Material costs are also increasing for the road commission, including the cost of a ton of salt increasing by 111 percent, a gallon of diesel fuel by 315 percent and the cost of a ton of asphalt by 253 percent, said Brandt.“All of this stuff has gone up tremendously and our income hasn't,” Road Commission Manager Mike Roper said. “That's why the road commissions in Michigan are all in bad shape right now. And that's why our roads are falling apart. And the problem with all that is that it costs more to fix them after they fall apart than if you could keep them up along the way.”The one mill, which would be levied, is equal to $1 per $1,000 taxable value on a property. For example, if the taxable property was $50,000, the increased payment would be around $50 a year.“If we generate this millage for four years, it would amount to about $5 million, about $1.3 million a year,” Cheboygan County Road Commission Board Member Ken Paquet said.Paquet said work on Mann Road and Devereaux Lake Road will be done with federal money. In the road millage proposal passes, the funds collected from the City of Cheboygan, Mackinaw City and the Village of Wolverine will be spent in those specific municipalities.Other money collected would be used to improve and resurface other roads in the county in dire need of repair. These include South Straits Highway from Prospect Road to Eagle’s Nest Road; Riggsville Road from I-75 to East Burt Lake Road; and Levering Road from the Cheboygan City limits to Inverness Trail.Additionally, East Mullett Lake Road from Onaway Road to Stewart Road; Mullett-Burt Road from Topinabee Mail Route to East Burt Lake Road; and South Straits Highway from the Wolverine Village Limits to Haakwood Road; are scheduled for resurfacing, should the millage pass. Townline Road in Inverness Township and Orchard Beach Road in Benton Township would also be improved.All of these projected resurfacing projects combine to a total of more than $4.1 million. “We do have a list of roads that we would probably start out with. That’s a starting point, we have to start somewhere,” said Brandt. “A lot of these, state funds and federal funds, I have 20 percent matches, which normally we never have. It would help in that area. If state funds do come somewhere, it would only enhance the millage money and go farther.”Brandt said even if the state were to come up with the almost $2 billion needed to get the roads back to good shape, it would still be a long process. “Every little bit will help,” he said. “So, if you could look at letting us run this millage and we’ll hope for our best and we can start repairing some roads, get our roads in better shape.”There are several townships which already have millages of their own, with funds already allocated to the roads. Brandt said the road commission has talked to the townships and the millage would allow them to help those townships with their projects.“That money would go even further with help from the townships,” he said.